Four-Cheese Mac and Cheese

This was a lovely mother-daughter Mother's Day mac and cheese making experiment. Also an attempt at finding the elusive 4-cheese mac and cheese recipe I am still on the hunt for (this is not it, but it's very good). This also taught me that if you want your food browned, that's what a broiler is for...and where/how to use my broiler. (Press the broil button on my stove.)


Ingredients:

• 1 box pasta (I'd go with elbows, penne, etc.)
• 3 tbsp + 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk (I used skim.)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz. Gouda cheese, grated
• 4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2/3 cup plain panko bread crumbs (I used just plain Italian bread crumbs b/c they were on sale)

Directions:

• Coat 1 or 2 9x9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. (I used two b/c my mom and I split up the two between ourselves)
• Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
• Drain & transfer to bowl.
• Heat 3 tbsp of butter in a medium-size saucepan until melted.
• Add flour, whisking to blend. Gradually add milk, whisk until smooth.
• Bring to a simmer over heat, stirring.
• Add onion powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer 3 minutes then remove from heat.
• Stir in Gouda, cheddar, Swiss, and 1/4 cup Parmesan until cheeses are melted and sauce is smooth. (My grater wasn't that good so it took a WHILE to grate it all...get your mom to do it like I did, or do it before you start cooking)

• Mix into cooked pasta and pour mixture into prepared dish(es).

• Separately, melted 1 tsp of butter.
• Stir in bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Divide evenly over pasta.
• Broil 3 minutes or until browned. (I broiled it in the toaster oven for ~20 min til it was browned).
• EAT!!!

Prep: 20 min (basically grating the cheese)

Yield: 12 servings